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Lion-O's Anointment Second Day: The Trial of Speed
Lion-O's Anointment Second Day: The Trial of Speed is an episode from the original series of ThunderCats. Written by Leonard Starr, it originally aired on November 19, 1985. Official Summary Lion-O undergoes Cheetara's Trial of Speed, the second test in the Anointment Trials, which he must pass in order to remain Lord of the ThunderCats. Lion-O escapes a man-eating Mandraga Flower, the two-headed Gaw-Rak-Rak , and the dwarf-like Pirrits. Meanwhile, Cheetara dodges the Mutants' spaceships. With five miles remaining in the race, Lion-O almost gives up, believing that it is useless to try and beat Cheetara's Super-Speed ability. Lion-O decides that he does not want to lose the race by quitting, and gives his greatest effort to the finish line. Lion-O wins the race and learns that Cheetara's Super-Speed has a two-mile limit. Lion-O passes Cheetara's Trial of Speed, earning his insignia as well as the other ThunderCats' admiration. Lion-O goes on to face the next trials of WilyKat and WilyKit. Official Moral Lion-O is faced with another trial as part of his Anointment Trials, and again the ThunderCats, while respecting the rules of the trials, find themselves acting together against outside forces. Each of them knows the purpose of the test and accepts his adversarial role in it. Sometimes elders will test or challenge children to teach a lesson or for a greater good, as in these trials. In this trial, Lion-O learns once more, as he had in the past, to use his ingenuity in addition to his physical attributes. But mainly he learns task persistence. He learns not to assume he will fail before trying. He also learns not to give up in the course of a task, even though success looks doubtful. This quality of not giving up pays off for him and he succeeds in his second trial. Children differ in how they perceive failure and the causes for it. Children who are helpless or perceive themselves unable to overcome failure attribute failure on a task to uncontrollable factors such as lack of effort. Having experienced failure, their performance decreases and they spend little time searching for ways to overcome failure. As a result, they give up easily in new tasks. Mastery oriented children attribute failure to controllable factors such as effort. Rather than ruminating on the causes of the failure, they direct themselves to attainment of a solution by testing hypotheses using self-instruction and self-monitoring. Helpless children might benefit by being trained to seek solutions by hypothesis testing like mastery-oriented children (Diener & Dweck, 1978). Story Having no idea about the Anointment Trials, Monkian excitedly tells his fellow Mutants that the ThunderCats are fighting amongst themselves and Lion-O is travelling without the Sword of Omens. Seeing this is an opportunity too good to pass, Slithe along with the other Mutants head out in their vehicles to attack Lion-O. After having successfully overpowered Panthro, Lion-O rendezvous with Cheetara to begin his second trial, one in which he will have to outrace the swift ThunderCat. Seeing that he will never be able to beat Cheetara in a straight race, Lion-O decides to take the shorter albeit more dangerous route. While racing through the longer path, Cheetara is attacked by the Mutants in their SkyCutters and NoseDiver. Fortunately, Panthro comes to her rescue in the ThunderTank. Pelting the Mutants with a barrage of laser shots, Panthro sends the villains fleeing back to their Castle Plun-Darr. Lion-O meanwhile, encounters a number of dangers on the shorter route, including the carnivorous Mandroga Flower, the angry Feerits, a school of Piranhas, the Whirlpool of Infinity, and the colossal, two-headed Gaw-Rak-Rak. He successfully contends with all the dangers and pushes on towards his goal. Lion-O and Cheetara’s path finally converge at a point just five miles short of the finish line. With the sun setting, the two sprint for the finish line in a flat out race. As Cheetara takes a healthy lead quickly, Lion-O almost decides to give up. But then he convinces himself that it is better to lose than to give up, and he soldiers on, unaware of the fact that Cheetara is unable to maintain her top speed for more than two miles. As Cheetara runs out of steam, Lion-O passes her and wins the race. Inside Cats Lair, the other ThunderCats congratulate Lion-O and tell him to prepare for the following day’s trial in which he will be pitted against the ThunderKittens. Tygra tells the young lord that he will have to use all is cunning to outwit the wily twins. Mumm-Ra who had been observing the proceedings from his cauldron, plans to throw a wrench into Lion-O’s trial. Characters Vehicles Locations Trivia * Even though all five of the Anointment Trial episodes take place on consecutive days and are supposed to be watched together, they were broadcast spaced apart with other episodes in-between them. However, the episodes were shown back to back when in syndication. * Just like the first trial episode, Lion-O does not perform his famous "ThunderCats Ho!" chant to summon the others. * This is the only episode in which both Jackalman and Monkian are shown wearing helmets while piloting the SkyCutters * Despite being present in this episode, the ThunderKittens never speak a word. * We learn in this episode that Cheetara can only maintain her top speed for a distance of two miles. * Monkian's "source" is never revealed. Goofs Notable Quotes Jaga: It is an important learning experience, Lion-o. Without the Sword you have to use ingenuity in addition to courage and strength. Lion-O: But I'm not better than the other ThunderCats. Jaga: You don't have to be better, Lion-O. But you do have to prove your leadership qualities. Cheetara: And you concede defeat? Lion-O: No! I haven't lost until you've won, Cheetara. Cheetara: In that case, it's almost sundown, Lion-O. Lion-O: Yes. Let's do it! Lion-O: I may lose, but it won't be because I gave up! Lion-O: Do we have to continue with this? Tygra: Every ThunderCat Lord must pass the anointment trials, Lion-O. Panthro: It's not just a ritual, Lion-O. You have to prove you're worthy of that title. Slithe: Are you sure this information is correct? It seems improbable. Monkian: The ThunderCats are fighting among themselves. I tell you it's true. The information comes from my best source. Slithe: I'll only believe it if I see it with my own eyes. Monkian: There's another thing. According to my source, Lion-O travels alone, without the wretched Snarf. And without the Sword of Omens. Jackalman: Impossible. Slithe: Who is this source of yours? Monkian: Um, I, uh, I met her in a tree. Jackalman: (laughs) She sounds a little out of her tree to me. Lion-O: And, if I fail? Jaga: You will fail, if you give up before you even begin. Cheetara: There's got to be a little extra reserve somewhere, but... there isn't. Monkian: My source tells me that Lion-O fights the kittens tomorrow. Maybe... Slythe: Your source, said he'd fight Cheetara today, and all we've done is spend hours chasing her. Jackalman: And fighting that blasted ThunderTank. Slythe: Are you sure your source is on our side! Mumm-Ra: I shall have to get into this game, I think. Lion-O: Competing with you is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I hate it. Snarf: Don't let yourself feel that way, Lion-O. Tygra: (referring to the ThunderKittens) They'll use every cute and wily trick in the book to stop you. Snarf: And some that aren't in the book. Lion-O: I'll do my best. But even if I win, I'll never forget that you are my friends. Everything I am, I owe to you. Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, Snarf: ThunderCats, ho! Media This episode was released on the following media: DVD * Season 1 Volume 2 DVD * Season 1 DVD * Seasons 1 & 2 DVD Episode Screenshots 25 TrialofSpeed1.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed2.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed3.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed4.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed5.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed6.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed7.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed8.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed9.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed10.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed11.jpg 25 TrialofSpeed12.jpg References DIENER, C. I., and Dweck, C. S. (1978). An Analysis of Learned Helplessness: Continuous changes in performance, strategy, and achievement cognitions following failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 451-462. External Links *Lion-O's Anointment Second Day: The Trial of Speed on IMDb *ThunderCats 1985 cartoon series on Wikipedia *ThunderCats on ThunderCats.org Category:Thundercats: 1980s TV episodes Category:ThunderCats episodes written by Leonard Starr Category:Season 1 (ThunderCats 1980s)